Hotel Tax

Revenue from Orange County's hotel tax continued its year-over-year improvement in October, further indication of a possible recovery in the area's lodging industry. The county reported Thursday that it collected nearly $13.2 million from its "tourist-development tax," a 17.4 percent increase from October 2009. That equates to roughly an additional $2 million for county coffers from the tax, which is levied on short-term rentals, mostly hotels and motels. County Comptroller Martha Haynie expressed delight at the monthly improvement in collections.

With help from the president of the state Senate, Florida tourism marketers are trying to get access to details about county hotel-tax collections that are now confidential by law. Representatives of tourism promotion bureaus say they want access to more in-depth tax data, including revenue generated by key areas within a particular county, such as the International Drive tourism corridor in Orange County or the beaches in Broward County. Only county-level data are publicly available right now. Having more detailed information, they say, would allow publicly subsidized tourism bureaus to better evaluate the impact of their marketing and to devise more effective campaigns.

Orange County's resort-tax collections continued their steady improvement in May, as the area's hotels and other rentals generated more income for county coffers. The county said Tuesday it collected $13.1 million in May from the tourist-development tax charged on short-term rentals, mostly hotels and motels. That's an increase of 14.7 percent compared with May 2010. Revenue has now risen for 16 consecutive months compared with the same month a year earlier. "For over a year now, month-over-month increases have been spectacular, as the resort tax helps our local economy rebuild," said county Comptroller Martha Haynie.

As local authorities investigate a string of hotel robberies in Central Florida's tourist areas, a statewide law-enforcement group is asking lawmakers for help. The Fraternal Order of Police wants the Florida Legislature to let counties use a portion of the tax tourists pay on hotel rooms to fund public safety in tourist corridors such as Orlando's International Drive district. Supporters say it would be a natural extension of the tax, which by law has to be spent on projects that promote and support tourism, such as advertising and sports and entertainment facilities.

Orange County's hotel-tax collections, a barometer of the local lodging industry, continued to grow in August. County Comptroller Martha Haynie said Monday the county collected $11.4 million from the "tourist development tax," which is charged on short-term rentals, mostly hotels and motels. That's a 3 percent increase from August 2010. Revenue from the hotel tax has now grown year-over-year for 19 consecutive months. Through the first 11 months of the county's fiscal year, the tax has generated $156.3 million, compared with $137.6 million during the same period a year ago. "We are pleased to see that the tax continues to show increases over the same month in the prior year," Haynie said.

Orange County ended its fiscal year with yet another year-over-year increase in monthly hotel-tax collections, a sign the local hospitality industry is on the right track. The county reported Tuesday that it collected nearly $9.7 million for the month of September from its "tourist-development" tax, levied on short-term rentals, mostly hotel and motel rooms. That's 4.6 percent more than the same month a year ago. "It's good to end the fiscal year with the eighth straight month of increased collections," county Comptroller Martha Haynie said.

After a brief and small growth spurt at the end of 2009, Orange County's hotel-tax collections continued their year-over-year declines in January. The county said Tuesday it collected $11.6 million from Orlando-area hotels and other short-term rentals for January, about 9.7 percent less than it took in a year earlier. The decrease followed a slight increase in December's revenue, which broke a string of monthly declines going back to the middle of 2008. "This drop on the heels of last month's leveling off shows us that the tourist economy is not yet coming out of the recession," county Comptroller Martha Haynie said.

Orange County said Monday its tourist-tax collections grew 8.3 percent for the month of December. The county collected $15.4 million from the tax, which is charged on short-term rentals, mostly hotel and motel stays. County Comptroller Martha Haynie said it was obvious the holidays "were happy for our visitors and our hotels. " Through the first three months of the county's fiscal year, the tourist-development tax has generated $45 million, up 7.3 percent from the same period a year earlier.

In an unprecedented string of declines, Orange County's hotel-tax collections fell for a 12th straight month in May compared with a year earlier. "What we've got going now is uncharted territory," said Martha Haynie, who has been Orange County's comptroller since 1988. The county said Thursday that it collected $11.1 million in May from its tax on hotels, motels and other short-term rentals, down 18.5 percent from May 2008. Through the first eight months of the county's fiscal year, hotel-tax collections are down 16.1 percent.

A long-delayed expansion of the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center has been abandoned because the hotel's owners decided the project was not economically feasible. Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc., which owns the sprawling conference center in Kissimmee, told Osceola County it will not go forward with the project, and it asked last week to terminate a 2008 deal that would have provided tax incentives in exchange for the hotel nearly doubling its convention space and adding 594 hotel rooms.

It looks like Gov. Rick Scott, an advocate of low taxes and pro-business policies, has an issue bubbling up at the Department of Revenue. Sometime within the last 18 months, the DOR began collecting a tax on hotels and restaurants across the state. Normally, that wouldn't be news because that's what Revenue-ers do - they collect taxes. But in this case, no one saw it coming. Industry officials claim DOR has created a new tax, based on a sketchy reading of the gloriously mis-named Communications Services Tax Simplification Law. That legislation was supposed to streamline the law creating a tax on communication services - things such as internet service providers or satellite television service.

Orange County is on pace to collect a record amount of tourist-development taxes this fiscal year, after its August tally came in 9 percent above the same month a year ago. County Comptroller Martha Haynie said the tax, which is collected from Orange County hotels and other short-term lodging establishments, generated $13.3 million during the month, compared with $12.2 million in August 2012. Haynie called the August results "another good increase" for the tax. Through the first 11 months of the county's fiscal year, which ended Sept.

Orange County's tourist-development tax generated $15.2 million during the month of July, according to figures Tuesday released by county Comptroller Martha Haynie. Collections from the tax, which is charged on short-term rentals such as hotels and motels, rose 5.4 percent compared with July 2012. While the county's tourist-tax revenue continues to outpace the previous fiscal year's collections, Haynie continued to caution about the need to maintain a reserve, even as private interests lobby to use some of the money to help build a pro-soccer stadium and other public venues in downtown Orlando.

Revenue from Orange County's tourist-development tax for the month of April fell 4.2 percent compared with a year ago, the result of an early Easter holiday that this year fell in March, county Comptroller Martha Haynie said Monday. The tax, charged on short-term rentals such as hotels and motels, generated $16.2 million, compared with $16.9 million in April 2012. Through the first seven months of the county's fiscal year, the tax has generated $113.9 million, up 5.8 percent compared with the same period a year ago. "Although April year-to-year TDT collections are less, due to the timing of the spring holiday, the Central Florida hospitality industry continues to prosper relating to year 2013," said Richard Maladecki, president and chief executive officer of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association.

Orange County's hotel-tax collections grew 3.3 percent for the month of February compared with a year earlier, a sign that the local tourism industry remains on a growth track. County Comptroller Martha Haynie said the tourist development tax generated $16.3 million, compared with $15.8 million for the same month last year. The tax is charged on short-term rentals, mostly hotels and motels. Richard Maladecki, president and chief executive officer of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, praised the gains.

TALLAHASSEE -- Rejecting arguments that counties have been shortchanged, a state appeals court Thursday sided with the online-travel industry in a major legal battle about payment of hotel bed taxes. The 1st District Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 ruling, said companies such as Expedia and Orbitz cannot be forced to pay local tourist-development taxes on part of the money they collect from customers. The majority found that the disputed amounts relate to reservation charges --- not to the actual amounts paid to rent hotel rooms --- and described the companies as "conduits.